Field of Invention
The invention pertains in general to methods of protecting the privacy of mobile device users.
Description of Related Art
Mobile application concerns, such as the vendors of applications which run on cell phones, are eager to understand the way consumers interact with their applications. For example, a cell phone application vendor may instrument their applications so that information can be transmitted from the cell phone to the cell phone application vendor's systems when the cell phone application is active. In some cases, a cell phone application vendor may instrument their applications so that information can be transmitted from the cell phone to third-party measurement system which can collect information on behalf of a cell phone application vendor and provide insights and reporting based on the collected information. However, consumers are rightfully concerned about privacy issues related to the types of information which may be collected and where that information may be transmitted.
What is needed is a way to enable a mobile application concern to support the selective transmission of information to a third-party system, while ensuring consumer confidence and privacy.